Manchester's rumored serial killer explored in new documentary

A serial killer may be prowling the streets of Manchester late at night and pushing people into canals to watch them drown, according to a new documentary.

Dubbed by local media as The Pusher, the alleged serial killer has been blamed for up to 80 deaths in the city.

UK’s Channel 4 commissioned the documentary, Manchester’s Serial Killer? after a mounting number of bodies were recovered from the waterways and social media rumours suggested something sinister was going on.

Head of psychology at Birmingham City University, Professor Craig Jackson was approached to feature in the documentary and said the number of deaths were unusual.

“(It is) unlikely that such a high number of cases are the result of just accidents or suicides,” he said.

However professor Jackson denied speculation the deaths were the result of a serial killer.

“I’m convinced foul play is a point concerning some of the bodies. I concur with the people of Manchester that ‘The Pusher’ is almost certainly the cause of some of these deaths.

“I believe the killer is targeting gay men or men the killer is assuming to be gay, following them from a night out or more worryingly, picking them up in bars. We may be dealing with a psychopath or extremely disturbed individual.”

Claims of a roaming serial killer first emerged on social media following the death of18-year old design student Souvik Pal. The Mirror reported Pal’s body was recovered from Bridgewater Canal on New Year’s Eve 2012.

CCTV show him with a mystery man which Pal’s father Santanu believes is proof his son was murdered.

“We do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding Souvik's death and a file will be submitted to the coroner in due course,” he told the BBC .

Parents of David Plunkett, 21 also believe their son’s death was a result of foul play after the student’s body was found in the Manchester Ship Canal in April 2004 claiming they heard “screaming and howling” .

in the last phone call he made.

Pub worker Stephen Faulkner who works near the canals said if there is a killer on the loose their killings may be the results of botched robberies.

“You get people who’ve been drinking and if someone wants their wallet, they’ll get pushed in,” he said.